Hair styling comb with driving means



06L 1967 R. L. SAWIN 3,349,782

HAIR STYLINGCOMB WITH DRIVING MEANS Filed Aug. 23, 1965 United States Patent 3,349,782 HAIR STYLING COMB WITH DRIVING MEANS Robert Lee Sawin, 10535 Indiana, Chicago, Ill. 60628 Filed Aug. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 481,845 5 Claims. 1 132-11) This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 212,210, filed July 25, 1962, and entitled, Hair Styling Apparatus, which is a continuationin-part of my application Ser. No. 171,408, filed Feb. 6, 1962, both cases now abandoned.

This invention relates to hair styling apparatus. More particularly, this invention concerns an apparatus for mechanically performing hair styling operations such as back-combing or teasing and French lacing.

The back-combing step in the preparation of ladies hair styles of the built-up or bouifant type requires considerable time. This back-combing procedure is commonly called teasing the hair. The hair stylist grasps the ends of a few strands of hair, holds them taut, and, beginning near the roots, combs them from beneath with many short strokes toward the scalp, meanwhile moving the comb toward the loose ends of the strands. In this manner the strands become intertwined and slightly curled. The procedure is repeated, a few strands at a time, all over the subjects scalp producing a matted hair base which stands out from the head. The stylist then arranges this matted base in the desired shape by combing lightly over the surface and arranging the outer layers of hair to conceal the matted base. A similar operation known as French lacing is performed in the same manner as teasing except the strands of hair are combed from above rather then from beneath. Both teasing and French lacing require up to an hour or more and literally thousands of quick, short comb strokes. Both operations are extremely fatiguing to the hair stylist.

It is an object of my invention to provide an apparatus for performing the teasing and French lacing steps mechanically. It is a further object of my invention to provide an apparatus for performing these operations quickly. Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for teasing 05 French lacing hair which will reduce the fatigue suffered by the hair stylist. These and other objects of my invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds.

Briefly, according to my invention, 1 provide an apparatus or device comprising a motor, a comb and a mechanical linkage which transmits power from the motor to the comb and causes the handle of the comb to move in a curvilinear path, preferably in a generally elliptical path, while the teeth of the comb remain pointed in the same direction or substantially the same direction all or substantially all of the time. The device is of light weight and can be readily handled by the hair stylist. In operation of the device, the hair stylist selects the strands of hair to be back-combed, holds them taut and places the moving comb in proximity to the hair strands near the roots so that the teeth of the comb engage the strands as the comb moves towards the roots of the hair. At or near the end of the stroke the comb automatically disengages the strands, returns to the starting point by a different path, re-engages the strands and begins another stroke toward the hair roots, thus completing the cycle.

Meanwhile, the stylist moves the apparatus toward the ends of the hair strands. In this manner the back-combing operation, either teasing or French lacing, is being per formed on each set of hair strands in a few seconds.

In order to more clearly describe my invention, I offer the following more detailed description of various preferred embodiments thereof.

FIGURE 1 is an external view of my apparatus in one embodiment showing the casing which encloses the motor and its accessories and the comb;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the internal arrangement of the parts in the apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows an external view of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional drawing of a form of guide system for producing desired movement of the comb taken at section 44 of FIGURE 2.

The device of this invention drives a comb through a proper combing stroke for hair teasing and like operations. The motor which drives the comb can be of the electric or pneumatic type. In a preferred embodiment of my invention I use an electric motor provided with a power cord which may be connected to a convenient outlet. In another preferred embodiment I use a batterypowered electric motor, advantageously employing self contained rechargeable batteries. Suitably, the motor is provided with a speed regulator, suitably of the variable resistance type, actuated by a multi-position switch, advantageously a thumb switch, suitably providing speeds of 0, 60, and 200 cycles per minute. It is also advantageous from a safety standpoint to provide a clutch, suitably of the spring-loaded type, on the drive shaft of the motor which disengages the drive mechanism if the comb becomes tangled in the subjects hair.

The stroke is generally reciprocal, For best results, the comb should move in a substantially flattened elliptical path or orbital path having two flat parallel sides such that the comb moves in a substantially straight line for the portion of the cycle representing the combing stroke for a distance of about 1% to 1% inch; then, disengaging the hair, the comb moves in a generally perpendicular direction to the combing stroke about /2 to inch, returns via a return stroke in another substantially straight line movement parallel to the path of the combing stroke, and finally re-engages the hair strands by moving back to the starting point for another combing stroke. During the whole of this cycle the teeth of the comb lie in substantially parallel planes. Thus, in the teasing step, the comb teeth always point generally upwardly, and in the French lacing step the comb teeth always point generally downwardly when combing strands of hair held in a horizontal plane.

Turning now to the drawings, in FIGURE 1 is shown an external view of one embodiment of my invention. The comb 1 is suitably of the same general type used by hair stylists for performing the aforementioned hair styling operations by hand except that it is provided with a short rat-tail 18 which keys into the comb shaft holder 17 which secures the comb to the comb drive shaft 15 and prevents rotational movement of the comb teeth about the axis of the extension of the rat-tail. A case or housing 2 encloses the internal workings of the apparatus and provides a convenient hand-hold for the beautician. The Orr-off variable speed switch 4 is conveniently mounted upon and in the hand-held portion of the case. In the case of an externally powered electric motor the power cord 5 advantageously enters the case at the near end thereof to present a minimum of opportunity for entanglement in the comb. Of course, if the motor is powered by self-contained batteries the external power cord may be dispensed with.

The arrows 3 depict the movement of the comb. Thus, according to FIGURE 1 an extension of the rat-tail and the comb drive shaft would describe a curvilinear path, preferably elliptical. The comb teeth would not rotate about the said extension but rather would always point in the same general direction.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the internal arrangement of the apparatus of FIGURE 1. The motor 8, here shown as the externally powered type, is contained within the handle portion of the case 2 and mounted or secured against axial movement by tight fit with the case. The motor shaft 9 transmits power through a safety clutch 1t) and a speed reducing means 11 to the flywheel 12. In order to enhance the clarity of the drawing, the minor mechanical details such as means of supporting the various elements within the case, the electrical wiring, the construction of the clutch and speed reducing means are omitted as they are already known or would be obvious to the skilled artisan. The flywheel 12 is connected to the comb drive shaft 15 by a crank 13 pivotally mounted at one end through the flywheel 12 by a tight fit of crank 13 through an off-center bore in flywheel 12. The other end 14 of crank 13 includes a bore receiving the comb drive shaft 15. Shaft 15 is secured against rotation relative to crank 13 by a suitable pin. The desired movement of the comb in its operation is achieved by the comb drive shaft guide 16 which forces the shaft 15 to move in the substantially elliptical path as it is caused to reciprocate by the action of the crank 13 which is eccentrically mounted through flywheel 12 as described.

The guide system to achieve the reciprocal or orbital path is best seen in FIGURES 2 and 4. As flywheel 12 drives, crank 13 reciprocates and carries shaft 15 and comb 1 with the teeth of comb 1 always pointing generally in the same direction. A roller gear 25 and roller 26 are mounted for free rotation on shaft 15 and are limited against axial movement. Guide 16 is provided with teeth on its inner s rface for meshing with the teeth of gear 25. A second guide 27, mounted on the casing, provides a rolling surface which is followed by roller 26 to retain gear 25 in mesh with the teeth of guide 16. It will be seen that as crank 13 reciprocates, gear 25 will follow guide 16 and roller 26 will follow guide 27 to move shaft 15 and comb 1 through one orbit of a generally elliptical path. Continued reciprocation of the crank 13 produces continuous orbiting of the comb 1 with the comb teeth always pointed in generally the same direction. A flywheel 28 is secured to gear 25 for rotation therewith on shaft 15 to assure that gear 25 will continue in its orbital path at each end of guide 16 without reversing direction. If the device is stopped with gear 25 on center at one end of guide 16, it may be necessary to move shaft 15 manually to thereby move gear 25 around the track before restarting.

In the preferred form, the comb has teeth pointing in opposite directions, i.e. a second set of teeth oriented 180 degrees from the first set. Such arrangement of the comb permits easier manipulation of the device for teasing operations, especially for both right and left hand operation or for working to either side from one standing position. Even in this form, however, each set of teeth always points generally in the same direction during the stroking motion of the comb.

Finally, FIGURE 3 is an external view of another embodiment of my invention wherein the motor is contained within a floor mounted case 20 and power is transmitted via an enclosed flexible shaft 22 to the hand-held case 23 containing the clutch, speed reducer and the link means for producing in the comb the movement. This embodiment is provided with a foot-operated speed and on-off switch 21.

I claim:

1. A hand-portable hair styling device for teasing hair comprising a casing of convenient small size and light weight to be entirely supported by the operators hand during use of the device, drive means mounted in said casing, comb means having a shaft and a plurality of laterally projecting teeth, means securing said comb means on said drive means against substantial rotational and axial movement of said comb means along the axis of its shaft relative to the casing, guide means mounted on said casing against movement relative thereto for guiding said comb means laterally through a stroking path in the absence of substantial rotational and axial movement of the comb means on the comb shaft axis relative to the casing, and motor means for driving said drive means.

2. A hand-portable hair styling device for teasing hair comprising a casing of convenient small size and light weight to be entirely supported by an operators hand during use of the device, drive means mounted in the easing, comb means having teeth pointing in one direction, means securing said comb means on the drive means against free rotation relative to the casing, guide means secured on the casing for guiding said comb means continuously through an orbital path having two separate gen erally flat parallel components with the teeth generally perpendicular to the length of said flat components and in the absence of rotation of the comb relative to said flat components and in the absence of movement of the comb lengthwise along the axis of its shaft relative to the casing, and motor means for continuously driving the drive means to drive the comb continuously through said path, Whereby said comb is guided through said path with the teeth of said comb pointing in the same general direction relative to the casing at each position in said path.

3. A hand-portable hair styling device for teasing hair comprising an elongated casing of convenient small size and light weight to be entirely supported by the operators hand during use of the device, a comb mounting member, drive means for driving said comb mounting member mounted in said casing and supporting said comb mounting member, means securing the comb mounting member against rotation on said drive means, guide means defining an orbital path having two separate generally flat parallel components generally perpendicular to the length of said casing and mounted on said casing against movement relative thereto for engaging said comb mounting member and guiding said comb mounting member continuously through said path with said comb mounting member in sliding engagement with the guide means, a comb member having teeth projecting in one direction, means securing said comb member to said comb mounting means and against rotation relative to said comb mounting means with said teeth pointing outward from one side of the path, and motor means for driving said drive means, whereby said comb mounting member and comb are guided and driven through said path with the teeth of the comb pointing generally in the same direction relative to said casing at each position of the comb in the path.

4. A hand-portable hair styling device for teasing hair comprising a casing of convenient small size and light weight to be entirely supported by the operators hand during use of the device, drive means mounted in said casing, comb means having a shaft element and a linear array of teeth pointing laterally in one direction from said shaft element, means securing said comb means on said drive means against axial movement of said comb means along the axis of its shaft relative to the casing, guide means mounted on said casing against movement relative thereto for guiding said comb means continuously through a stroking path and a separate return path with said teeth generally perpendicular to the length of said path and without axial movement of the comb means along the axis of its shaft relative to the casing, and motor means for driving said drive means, whereby said comb means is guided and driven through said path with the teeth of the comb always pointing generally in the same direction relative to said casing at each position of the comb in the path.

5. The hair styling device of claim 4 wherein said comb means has a second set of teeth pointing generally in the opposite direction from the first mentioned set of teeth. 10

References Cited UNITED Spillers 132--11 X Erickson.

LAWRENCE W. TRA'PP, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HAND-PORTABLE HAIR STYLING DEVICE FOR TEASING HAIR COMPRISING A CASING OF CONVENIENT SMALL SIZE AND LIGHT WEIGHT TO BE ENTIRELY SUPPORTED BY THE OPERATOR''S HAND DURING USE OF THE DEVICE, DRIVE MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID CASING, COMB MEANS HAVING A SHAFT AND A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY PROJECTING TEETH, MEANS SECURING SAID COMB MEANS ON SAID DRIVE MEANS AGAINST SUBSTANTIAL ROTATIONAL AND AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID COMB MEANS ALONG THE AXIS OF ITS SHAFT RELATIVE TO THE CASING, GUIDE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID CASING AGAINST MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO FOR GUIDING SAID COMB MEANS LATERALLY THROUGH A STROKING PATH IN THE ABSENCE OF SUBSTANTIAL ROTATIONAL AND AXIAL MOVEMENT OF THE COMB MEANS ON THE COMB SHAFT AXIS RELATIVE TO THE CASING, AND MOTOR MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID DRIVE MEANS. 